Director of Architecture & Construction

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Description

Position Summary

Steelman Partners is seeking an experienced Director of Architecture & Construction to lead the technical development, documentation, coordination, and construction execution of large-scale luxury hospitality, gaming, resort, and entertainment projects.

This senior leadership position is responsible for ensuring that Steelman Partners' design vision is successfully translated into coordinated, technically sound, constructable, and high-quality built environments. The Director will provide leadership throughout all phases of project delivery, from concept and schematic design through construction documentation, procurement, construction administration, and project closeout.

The ideal candidate is a licensed architect with extensive experience delivering complex hospitality projects and managing multidisciplinary architectural, engineering, consultant, contractor, and client teams. This individual must combine strong architectural judgment, technical expertise, construction knowledge, leadership capabilities, and an uncompromising commitment to design quality.

Key Responsibilities:

Architectural Leadership

• Provide senior architectural and technical leadership across multiple luxury hospitality, gaming, resort, hotel, restaurant, entertainment, and mixed-use projects.
• Ensure the architectural integrity of each project is maintained from initial design through construction and final completion.
• Guide project teams in translating conceptual design intent into coordinated, technically accurate, and constructable architectural solutions.
• Review project design, planning, detailing, material selections, and documentation for quality, consistency, code compliance, and alignment with Steelman Partners' standards.
• Support the development and implementation of firmwide architectural production, documentation, and quality-control standards.
• Participate in design reviews and provide practical recommendations that preserve the design vision while addressing budget, schedule, operational, and construction requirements.

Construction Oversight

• Lead the firm's construction-phase involvement and serve as a senior point of contact for clients, contractors, consultants, and project teams.
• Oversee construction administration activities, including submittal and shop drawing reviews, requests for information, supplemental instructions, architect's field reports, change documentation, and closeout procedures.
• Monitor construction progress and quality to confirm general conformance with the contract documents and approved design intent.
• Identify potential construction risks, coordination issues, cost impacts, and schedule concerns before they affect project delivery.
• Conduct or oversee site observations, construction meetings, mock-up reviews, material reviews, punch walks, and final inspections.
• Work collaboratively with contractors and construction managers to resolve field conditions while protecting the client's interests and the integrity of the design.
• Review proposed substitutions, value-engineering recommendations, and contractor alternatives for technical suitability, lifecycle performance, cost implications, and design impact.

Project Delivery and Documentation

• Oversee project delivery through concept design, schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding, permitting, construction, and closeout.
• Establish project-specific documentation strategies, responsibilities, review milestones, and quality-control procedures.
• Review architectural drawings, specifications, schedules, details, and consultant documents for completeness, accuracy, and interdisciplinary coordination.
• Ensure architectural documents are appropriately coordinated with interior design, structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, lighting, food service, landscape, audiovisual, acoustical, signage, and specialty consultant packages.
• Confirm that project documentation complies with applicable building codes, accessibility requirements, life-safety standards, jurisdictional requirements, brand standards, and contractual obligations.
• Support permitting and authority-review processes, including responses to agency comments and coordination with local architects and code consultants.
• Promote efficient use of BIM, Revit, document-management platforms, and other project-delivery technologies.

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop architects, project managers, technical designers, construction administrators, and architectural production staff.
• Establish clear expectations for project responsibilities, documentation quality, communication, and accountability.
• Work with firm leadership to assign staff and resources based on project scope, complexity, schedule, and team capabilities.
• Monitor team performance, workload, staffing needs, project progress, and deliverable quality.
• Provide technical training and mentorship to strengthen the architectural and construction knowledge of the firm's project teams.
• Support the recruitment, onboarding, evaluation, and professional development of architectural staff.
• Foster a collaborative culture that encourages design excellence, technical rigor, proactive problem-solving, and professional growth.

Client and Consultant Coordination

• Serve as a trusted senior advisor to clients throughout the design and construction process.
• Communicate complex architectural and construction matters clearly to clients, consultants, contractors, and internal project teams.
• Lead or participate in client presentations, technical workshops, coordination meetings, design reviews, and construction meetings.
• Manage the performance and coordination of architectural and engineering consultants.
• Review consultant proposals, scopes, deliverables, schedules, and invoices for alignment with project requirements.
• Assist project leadership in establishing consultant responsibilities and resolving scope gaps or coordination conflicts.
• Maintain productive relationships with owners, operators, developers, contractors, construction managers, vendors, and jurisdictional authorities.

Quality, Risk, and Contract Management

• Develop and administer quality-assurance and quality-control procedures for architectural documentation and construction administration.
• Conduct milestone reviews to identify documentation gaps, inconsistencies, coordination issues, constructability concerns, and potential claims exposure.
• Assist leadership in reviewing project contracts, consultant agreements, scopes of service, deliverable requirements, and construction-phase obligations.
• Confirm that services are performed in accordance with contractual requirements and the firm's professional standard of care.
• Support the documentation and management of additional services, owner-directed changes, consultant changes, and project scope revisions.
• Coordinate with executive leadership regarding significant project risks, client concerns, schedule impacts, construction disputes, or potential liability.
• Maintain clear and organized project records, including decisions, approvals, field observations, correspondence, and change documentation.

Budget and Schedule Management

• Collaborate with project leadership to develop realistic architectural schedules, staffing plans, deliverable milestones, and construction-phase service requirements.
• Monitor architectural progress against approved project schedules and identify corrective actions when necessary.
• Support coordination with cost consultants, contractors, and construction managers during estimating, bidding, and value-engineering activities.
• Evaluate cost-reduction opportunities while minimizing impacts to design quality, guest experience, operations, durability, and long-term value.
• Assist in reviewing construction estimates and identifying discrepancies between the design documents, scope, and anticipated construction cost.
• Support phased construction, fast-track delivery, renovation, and occupied-property implementation strategies.

Qualifications:

• Professional degree in Architecture from an accredited institution.
• Active architectural license required; eligibility for licensure in additional jurisdictions is preferred.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible architectural experience, including significant leadership and construction-phase experience.
• Extensive experience delivering large-scale luxury hospitality, gaming, resort, hotel, restaurant, entertainment, or mixed-use developments.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects from design through construction and closeout.
• Strong knowledge of architectural documentation, detailing, specifications, building systems, materials, construction methods, and sequencing.
• Comprehensive understanding of building codes, accessibility standards, life-safety requirements, and permitting processes.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary engineering and specialty consultant teams.
• Strong understanding of construction contracts, project delivery methods, bidding, procurement, change management, and construction administration.
• Proficiency in Revit and familiarity with BIM coordination, Bluebeam, AutoCAD, Microsoft Office, and document-management platforms.
• Experience with alternative delivery methods, including design-build, construction manager at risk, fast-track, phased construction, and design-assist, is preferred.
• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally as project requirements dictate.

Leadership Competencies:

• Exceptional architectural, technical, and construction judgment.
• Strong leadership, mentorship, and team-management capabilities.
• Ability to balance design excellence with constructability, cost, schedule, operations, and client expectations.
• Decisive and solutions-oriented approach to complex project challenges.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage multiple large-scale projects and competing priorities.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to maintain a broader strategic perspective.
• Professional confidence when working with executive clients, ownership groups, operators, consultants, and contractors.
• High level of integrity, accountability, discretion, and professional judgment.
• Commitment to collaboration, innovation, quality, and continuous improvement.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience with luxury casino resorts, integrated resorts, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, entertainment venues, arenas, convention facilities, and high-end public spaces.
• Experience delivering renovation and expansion projects within occupied and continuously operating hospitality or gaming properties.
• International project experience, particularly in Asia, the Middle East, or other major hospitality markets.
• Familiarity with luxury hotel operator standards and gaming regulatory requirements.
• Experience managing remote, international, and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Experience representing an architecture firm during major construction programs with construction values exceeding $100 million.

Reporting Structure:

The Director of Architecture & Construction will report to the President and Chief Executive Officer and will collaborate closely with the firm's design, interior design, project management, production, engineering, and executive leadership teams.

About Steelman Partners:

Steelman Partners is an international architecture and interior design firm specializing in the creation of world-class hospitality, gaming, entertainment, and integrated resort destinations. Our work combines bold design, operational insight, technical excellence, and a deep understanding of the guest experience.

The Director of Architecture & Construction will play a critical role in ensuring that Steelman Partners' creative vision is delivered with the technical quality, coordination, and construction excellence expected of a global luxury hospitality design firm.

Steelman Partners provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.